


Mistake?

by nekonexus



Category: Saiyuki Gaiden
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-03-20
Updated: 2005-03-20
Packaged: 2017-10-13 10:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/136169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekonexus/pseuds/nekonexus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kenren stakes a claim, with mixed results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistake?

The first time was almost a mistake.

In fact it was the sort of thing he should have passed off as complete chance, a one-time only offer. Happenstance. A lucky break. He was accustomed to those. Didn't rely on them, of course, because that would make him a fool, which he was most definitely not, though he might play at being one. But his life had a habit of strange little quirks, anomalies that worked out in his favour.

He hadn't been so sure which it was, for once, at the time.

~*~*~

Finding Field Marshal Tenpou asleep, or close to it, surrounded by books and propped against his desk, had already become familiar routine in the short amount of time General Kenren had known him. He'd already lost count of the number of times he'd woken the Marshal, or at least pulled him back from whatever distant realm his thoughts had taken him to, and brought him fresh coffee and something to eat. He could count, on one hand even, the number of times he'd been allowed to convince the Marshal to head to bed for a few hours. That number about matched the number of times he'd managed to get him into a bath.

Rolling his eyes and sharing an exasperated look with the frog ashtray, Kenren toed a few books out of the way and made enough space to crouch on his heels beside the Marshal. There were times when he just wanted to whack the man across the back of the head and slap some common sense into him, but he did know better than to assault a commanding officer in such an obvious way. The whole 'teaching by example' routine -- and people would probably kill themselves laughing at the very idea of General Kenren trying to teach the Marshal anything, but what did they know, really? -- didn't seem to be taking, either, which left him a bit at a loss as to what to do with the Marshal.

"Oi, Marshal," he said, grasping Tenpou's shoulder. Soft brown hair, clean for once, brushed against his fingers as the Marshal shifted his head.

"Mmm?" Tenpou murmured vaguely, blinking at him.

 _Oh-ho,_ Kenren thought, studying the brown eyes that were entirely too focused too quickly. _You weren't asleep at all, were you?_

Something electric passed between them, creating one of the moments it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. Tension tightened the air -- the wrong kind of tension entirely, maybe, if you were the type to think such things improper. General Kenren wasn't, obviously. He knew the problem was that there were other things he'd like to do to the Marshal, given half a chance, but he tried not to think about them because it wouldn't be pleasant to find your partner was so absent-minded as to reach for a book in the middle of having sex.

"Kenren."

It took him a moment to retrieve his brain from where it had wandered off to. "Huh, what?"

Leaning his head back against the desk, Tenpou studied him silently for a long moment. "What do you want?" he finally asked, and although Kenren thought he'd become quite good at interpreting the Marshal's tones, he couldn't read this one.

A soft grunt of surprise escaped him. Folding his arms atop his knees, he considered the Marshal. That crackle of electricity was still in the air, going straight to his crotch, and he really should just get up and back away. Because he had no interest in being transferred again, not now, and his commanding officer really shouldn't be looking at him _that_ way.

Then again, he wasn't one to second-guess opportunity when it arose. _No regrets, right?_ he reminded himself, summoning up his best devil-may-care grin. "You," he said.

Tenpou blinked at him, completely unsurprised, it seemed. "Then what in heaven is taking you so long?"

Grabbing his wrists, Kenren pulled them both to their feet. "Oh, you know," he said, moving his hand to Tenpou's shoulder to steady the Marshal when he swayed slightly. "Thought I'd give this _propriety_ thing a try for a while."

"Whatever for? It's not worth it," Tenpou said, reaching up to adjust his glasses.

"Damn right," Kenren agreed. "And worse, it's _bor~ing_." Tightening his grip on Tenpou's wrist, he led the way to the bedroom, kicking a trail through books and papers.

The shedding of clothes was accomplished with a minimum of fuss, but then he was practised at getting his hands where they shouldn't be in the shortest amount of time possible. The Marshal -- and he really ought to stop thinking of him that way, if they were going to fuck -- stretched out on the bed, quiet and looking somewhat preoccupied and far more naked without his glasses than he was without clothes.

Kenren reached for him, stroking gentle fingers over his chest, but even when their lips met, Tenpou didn't seem to be all the way _there_ in a way that rather annoyed Kenren.

"Do you ever stop thinking?" he muttered, staring down at Tenpou's completely bland expression.

Tenpou blinked. "Yes."

"When?" Kenren wondered aloud, more frustrated than he had any reason to be.

An entirely different smile slid across Tenpou's features. "When someone makes me," he said.

"Oh." He swept his gaze over the planes and angles of the Marshal's body, seeing the tension beneath the appearance of relaxation. "Oh," he said again, transferring his attention back to Tenpou's face. "If that's the way it is..." Knotting his fingers tightly in Tenpou's hair, he forced a hungry, insistent kiss upon him.

Staking his claim.

And the Marshal submitted.

~*~*~

"If you're awake," Tenpou said, many hours later. "Go make coffee."

He groaned, of course, but he was already rolling out of bed anyway. He found cigarettes and a lighter before he found the kitchen, and had to wash the coffee pot out before he could make any, but none of that really mattered. It gave him time to think, which, all joking aside, he actually did quite a lot of.

Maybe it had been a mistake to change the dynamics of their relationship, but he hadn't expected, never would have anticipated, that the Marshal would be so submissive. And yet, maybe it was only balancing things between them, given how he spent so much time looking after Tenpou. He really didn't quite know how to think about it. He wasn't about to assume it was going to happen again, either, despite the Marshal's earlier question.

 _Then what in heaven is taking you so long?_

Smirking around his cigarette, he watched the coffee brew. _No regrets. Take what you get and don't worry about tomorrow._

Because of course by the time the coffee was done, the Marshal was more or less dressed and had his nose in a book again. He accepted the coffee mug with a distracted nod that made it plain that they weren't going to talk about it. If there was anything to talk about. Kenren hadn't quite decided. Collecting his jacket and another smoke, he let himself out.

By the time he encountered Goujun in the hallway, he wasn't even thinking about Tenpou anymore. If the dragon king seemed preoccupied, he often was, and the sniff of disdain at Kenren was nothing new. So he was caught completely by surprise when Goujun stopped, grabbed him by the jacket, and forced him up against the wall. That face he didn't particularly care for to begin with leaned in far too close, and he could see the dragon's nostrils flaring.

"He is mine, _General_." The words hissed in his ear, almost making him laugh.

 _Well, well, well,_ he thought. _That explains some things. And I really shouldn't be surprised._ "Oh, really?" he drawled around his cigarrette. "What makes you think so?"

Tension vibrated in the dragon's body. "I claimed him first, and I do not share."

Up close, the scales on Goujun's face are fine, like feathers. He wondered if they'd slice the skin if rubbed the wrong way. Blowing out a stream of smoke, he was entirely too satisfied when Goujun recoiled, eyes narrowed.

"We'll see about that," Kenren said.

Not a mistake, at all, then. Just a challenge. And General Kenren wasn't one to let a challenge go unanswered.


End file.
